Encyclopedia of Indian Religions Series Editor Arvind Sharma Zayn R. Kassam Yudit Kornberg Greenberg Jehan Bagli Editors Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism With 23 Figures and 2 Tables Editors Zayn R. Kassam Yudit Kornberg Greenberg Pomona College Religious Studies Rollins College Jewish Studies Program Claremont, CA, USA Winter Park, FL, USA Jehan Bagli World Zoroastrian Organization Toronto, ON, Canada ISBN 978-94-024-1266-6 ISBN 978-94-024-1267-3 (eBook) ISBN 978-94-024-1268-0 (print and electronic bundle) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1267-3 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018938664 # Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature 2018 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Science+Business Media B.V. part of Springer Nature. The registered company address is: Van Godewijckstraat 30, 3311 GX Dordrecht, The Netherlands Preface The long presence of Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Islam in the South Asian region calls for a volume dedicated to their presence and their rich histories, contributions to, and meldings with preexisting Indian cultures and religios- ities. That said, this volume can hardly consider itself to be a comprehensive account of the figures, monuments, and practices that have shaped their encounter with the pluralistic traditions predating their arrival, as well as the devotional, literary, artistic, and cultural expressions that continue to animate their presence on Indian soil. Nonetheless, it provides a window into these arenas stemming from the many years of preparation that have gone into this volume and the contributions of innumerable scholars working on the topics covered. To these scholars, we would like to express our sincere gratitude for their patience, hard work, helpful discussions, and for devoting their precious time in bringing this volume of the encyclopedia to fruition. The history of Zoroastrianism in India is rich and stretches back to nearly thirteen hundred years. The early Zoroastrian migrants fled their homeland of Iran to reach India sometime early in the eighth century C.E. It was therefore important to cover not only the spiritual aspect of the faith, but also the journey of the Zoroastrian community and their evolution socially and reli- giously in their new homeland. It was with this notion in mind that we designed this section. Authors from priestly profession as well as academic scholars from India and abroad were invited to elaborate on their research in various aspects of faith and commu- nity. The entries in this section trace the history of faith and community from post-Sasanian Iran to their migration to India including the unfolding of their places of worship and their achievements on the Indian subcontinent. In contrast, the chapters on theology, Zoroastrian calendars, scriptures, and rituals present an overall survey of Zoroastrianism. A chapter also elaborates the communications that the migrant community maintained with their parent Iranian counterpart. The entries covering Judaism and Jewish life in India introduce and reveal a fascinating history of a small yet thriving community with a legacy of peaceful coexistence and mutually rich cultural encounters and interactions. Although the smallest among the three religious groups featured in our volume, Indian- Jewish encounters can be traced as far back as the biblical references to direct or indirect trade between India and ancient Israel. Covering the history of the three major Jewish communities in India, the Kerala Jews, the Bene Israel v vi Preface community, and the Iraqi Jews, our scholars provide us with accounts of the spiritual life of each of these Jewish communities and the intra-Jewish dynam- ics among them. They address the economic, philanthropic, literary, and artistic contributions of Jews to modern Indian society, particularly in the regions of Bombay and Calcutta. The authors also discuss the large emigration of Indian Jews to Israel, especially from the Cochini and the Bene Israel communities. Finally, for the Islam section of this volume we offer entries that form a starting point for glimpsing some of the highlights of its thirteen centuries-long presence in South Asia. Some focus on historical developments, others on philosophies and ideas, others on monuments, yet others on devotional liter- atures, and some on key personages. We see through the entries the dynamism of religious and cultural exchanges that both Indianize Islamic and Islamize Indian expressions as one consequence of the encounter of indigenous and transplanted traditions, even as impulses to keep separate the distinctiveness of the various religious traditions work against creative syncretism. Far from being a history of conflict, the reality on the ground is that historically South Asian Muslims have both constituted and been constituted by the profound philosophical, literary, geographical, material, and cultural spaces they inhabit in the region. CA, USA Professor Zayn R. Kassam FL, USA Professor Yudit Kornberg Greenberg ON, Canada Professor Jehan Bagli Series Editor Arvind Sharma Formerly of the I.A.S., Arvind Sharma (b.1940) is the Birks Professor of Comparative Religion in the School of Religious Studies at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He has also taught at various univer- sities in Australia and the United States and has published extensively in the fields of comparative religion and Indology. He is currently the general editor of Encyclopedia of Indian Religions (Springer, 2017) and his forthcoming works include Orientalism Two, Our Civilization, and How to Read the Manusmṛti. vii About the Editors Zayn R. Kassam is the John Knox McLean Professor of Religious Studies at Pomona College in Claremont, CA. The winner of three Wig Awards for Distinguished Teaching, she has also won the national American Academy of Religion Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Theta Alpha Kappa Kathleen Connolly-Weinart Leader of the Year Award. Kassam has authored a volume on Islam (Greenwood Press, 2005) and edited two volumes, respec- tively titled Women and Islam (2010) and Women and Asian Religions (2017). She has published articles on religion and migration, on pedagogy, feminist Muslim hermeneutics, and Muslim Women and globalization. Her current research investigates contemporary challenges facing Muslim migrants. She teaches courses on women in Islam, Islamic thought, contemporary Muslim literature, and religion and the environment. Dr. Kassam’s service to the profession includes serving on American Academy of Religion national steering committees for the Study of Islam; Childhood Studies in Religion; Liberal Theologies; Religion and Migration; and the Islam, Gender, Women Group. She is also a board member for the highly acclaimed Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, as well as a con- sulting editor on Twentieth Century Religious Thought: vol II, Islam. Dr. Yudit Kornberg Greenberg is the George D. and Harriet W. Cornell Endowed Chair of Religion and Founding Director of the Jewish Studies Program at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. Her fields of teaching and research include modern and contemporary Jewish thought, Hebrew Bible, comparative religion, women and religion, and cross-cultural views of love and the body. Dr. Greenberg is the author of Better than Wine: Love, Poetry and Prayer in the Thought of Franz Rosenzweig, the two volume Encyclopedia of Love in World Religions, nominated for the American Acad- emy of Religion Book award for 2009, and editor of From Spinoza to Levinas: Hermeneutical, Ethical, and Political Issues in Modern and Contemporary Jewish Philosophy. She has written numerous articles and essays in modern and contemporary Jewish thought, and in comparative Hindu and Jewish philosophy and religion. Her recent books include The Body in Religion: ix x About the Editors Crosscultural Perspectives, Bloomsbury Academic, 2017, and Dharma and Halacha: Comparative Studies in Hindu-Jewish Philosophy and Religion, Lexington Books, 2018. Dr. Greenberg lectures nationally and internationally on philosophical topics related to love, body, and gender. She has been active in numerous scholarly societies and organizations such as the American Academy of Religion, where she served as co-chair of the Studies in Judaism Section